VIASPACE Director Purchases Additional 3 Million Shares of Common Stock and Will Host Board Meeting; VIASPACE CEO to Present at the International Biomass Conference

IRVINE, Calif., March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- VIASPACE Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VSPC), and its subsidiary VIASPACE Green Energy Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: VGREF) today reported that in the last month, VIASPACE Director Dr. Kevin L. Schewe has purchased an additional 3 million VSPC common shares on the open market. Dr. Schewe has purchased 10 million shares since joining the VIASPACE Board of Directors in January 2012, and now preferentially holds a total of 87 million VSPC common shares. Dr. Schewe has become an active Board member working closely with President Sung Chang, CEO Carl Kukkonen and the VIASPACE management team.

Dr. Schewe commented: "At the Board level, we are rigorously working to take the necessary steps to increase shareholder value. We have no plans for a reverse stock split and would only entertain this concept if our share price was significantly higher and a reverse split was necessary to effect a move to a higher stock exchange such as the NASDAQ Global Market. We absolutely want to minimize any further stock count dilution. We are actively looking at ways to increase corporate revenue, decrease expenses and show profit to our shareholders while we are working hard to reach closure on multiple Giant King Grass pellet and bioelectricity deals on a global basis. In my opinion, our VSPC share price remains undervalued by the market and I will continue to add to my position during this undervalued time frame. Our drive to succeed is stronger than ever and my continued VSPC share purchases affirm that commitment."

Dr. Schewe will host the VIASPACE Board of Directors meeting to be held in Denver on April 19, 2012. Dr. Schewe lives and works in the Denver area. VIASPACE CEO Dr. Carl Kukkonen will be participating in and making an invited presentation at the 5th Annual International Biomass Conference & Expo which will also be held in Denver April 16-19, 2012, at the Colorado Convention Center. The conference brings together industry professionals from all sectors of the world's interconnected biomass utilization industries—biobased power, thermal energy, fuels and chemicals. VIASPACE has scheduled several business meetings around the conference.

About VIASPACE Inc.VIASPACE is a clean energy company providing products and technology for renewable and alternative energy that reduce or eliminate dependence on fossil and high-pollutant energy sources. Through its majority-owned subsidiary VIASPACE Green Energy Inc., the Company grows Giant King Grass as a low-carbon fuel for electricity generating power plants, for energy pellets, as a feedstock bio methane production and cellulosic biofuels, and for other low-carbon, renewable energy products. For more information, please go to www.VIASPACE.com or contact Dr. Jan Vandersande, Director of Communications, at 800-517-8050 or IR@VIASPACE.com.

Safe Harbor StatementInformation in this news release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation, risks outlined in our periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2010, as well as general economic and business conditions; the ability to acquire and develop specific products and technologies; changes in consumer and business demand for the Company's products; competition from larger companies; changes in demand for alternative and clean energy; risks associated with international transactions; risks related to technological change; and other factors over which VIASPACE has little or no control.